New Bern inventor to launch ‘Safe-T-Stool’ on QVC in January

Local inventor Ron Pontiff demonstrates the inability of his Safe-T-Stool to tip over, compared to similarly priced stool.

Cathryn Lindsay/Sun Journal

By Cathryn Lindsay, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 03:52 PM.

Local inventor Ron Pontiff recently secured a deal to launch his latest product, the Safe-T-Stool, on QVC on Jan. 17 at 1 p.m.

The creation of the Safe-T-Stool began in 2003, when Pontiff saw the 2-year-old daughter of a family friend slip on a stool and hit her face while brushing her teeth. The child had to be rushed to the emergency room. Pontiff immediately thought there had to be a way to make a stool that can’t flip over.

The Safe-T-Stool is made from a durable Polypropylene plastic set at 20-degree angles with a non-slip textured rubber top and a rubber-slip resistant bottom. The stool is legless, always maintaining 100 percent contact with the floor, and can be stood on at any area and not tip over.

“Children don’t have the awareness to stand in the middle of the stool,” Pontiff said. “This design takes that out of the equation. (This product) is engineered for safety.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages 0 to 19. Every day, approximately 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries —almost 2.8 million children each year. And the elderly are just as susceptible to fall-related injuries. The CDC reports that among older adults falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries, with 2.3 million cases of older adults being treated in the emergency room in 2010.

Although the Safe-T-Stool was inspired by child safety, it is a versatile tool that can be used by anyone in any circumstance, Pontiff explained. The stool has a load capacity of 500 pounds and comes in seven different colors, including bright green and yellow, grey, pink, red, black and blue.

“It is made for toddlers to the elderly and everyone in between,” Pontiff said. “It’s great for exercising —dips, push-ups, planks —and it won’t slip on the carpet. It’s even good for people who take care of horses, since it has no legs, the horse can’t get its hoof under it to knock the groomer over.”

Local inventor Ron Pontiff recently secured a deal to launch his latest product, the Safe-T-Stool, on QVC on Jan. 17 at 1 p.m.

The creation of the Safe-T-Stool began in 2003, when Pontiff saw the 2-year-old daughter of a family friend slip on a stool and hit her face while brushing her teeth. The child had to be rushed to the emergency room. Pontiff immediately thought there had to be a way to make a stool that can’t flip over.

The Safe-T-Stool is made from a durable Polypropylene plastic set at 20-degree angles with a non-slip textured rubber top and a rubber-slip resistant bottom. The stool is legless, always maintaining 100 percent contact with the floor, and can be stood on at any area and not tip over.

“Children don’t have the awareness to stand in the middle of the stool,” Pontiff said. “This design takes that out of the equation. (This product) is engineered for safety.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages 0 to 19. Every day, approximately 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries —almost 2.8 million children each year. And the elderly are just as susceptible to fall-related injuries. The CDC reports that among older adults falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries, with 2.3 million cases of older adults being treated in the emergency room in 2010.

Although the Safe-T-Stool was inspired by child safety, it is a versatile tool that can be used by anyone in any circumstance, Pontiff explained. The stool has a load capacity of 500 pounds and comes in seven different colors, including bright green and yellow, grey, pink, red, black and blue.

“It is made for toddlers to the elderly and everyone in between,” Pontiff said. “It’s great for exercising —dips, push-ups, planks —and it won’t slip on the carpet. It’s even good for people who take care of horses, since it has no legs, the horse can’t get its hoof under it to knock the groomer over.”

The stool is equipped with carrying handles and a hollow underside, which makes it a lightweight carrying container with no sharp corners.

The creation of the Safe-T-Stool was more than 10 years in the making. Pontiff began the prototype, and when a friend saw it in 2011, they became business partners. The stool was patented earlier this year. The patenting process is tedious, according to Pontiff, and took two and a half years.

“I have a passion to invent,” he said. “It’s just the way my mind works. Whenever I see something I’m always thinking of how to make it better and easier to use.”

When a broker presented eight new product ideas to QVC, only the Safe-T-Stool was picked up, according to Pontiff, a New Bern native. The network is expecting the product to sell out and has already increased the initial order by 50 percent. But QVC wasn’t the first buyer interested in Pontiff’s creation.

“We met with Kevin Harrington of ‘Shark Tank’ four times,” Pontiff said. “One of the biggest reasons we didn’t go with him was because he wanted to outsource to China, and we said no. We wanted to monitor the quality control … and keep the jobs in America.”

The Safe-T-Stool is not Pontiff’s first patented invention, nor will it be his last. He is already working on follow-on products, including a step ladder that is slated to be released in 2014. He holds 11 patents from his 20-year inventing career, including the Attic Assist and Lucky Charm Golf Accessories.

“If you believe in your ideas, never give up. It’s a sure-fire way your product will not get invented,” Pontiff advised potential inventors. “If someone wants to invent something, double the costs and triple the time expected — there will be bumps in the road.”